Ichido Soto (1714-1799) Antique Japanese bamboo tea scoops #4959
- SKU:
- 4959
- Shipping:
- Free Shipping
- length: approx. 18.5cm (7 9⁄32in)
- length: approx. 17cm (6 11⁄16in)
- weight: gross 154g
- note: I was unable to decipher the inscription, but the name of this scoops is "Hana no Moto" (likely referring to the energy that makes flowers bloom). It appears to speak of the cheerfulness of spring and the purity of people's hearts.
This chashaku (tea scoop) is a work crafted by Ichido Soto in 1793. It is made from beautiful bamboo, and its simplicity and delicate curves symbolize the spirit of the tea ceremony.
Ichido Soto (1714-1799)
He was a Rinzai Zen monk from the late Edo period. He served as the 377th head priest of Daitoku-ji and hailed from Yodo in Yamashiro Province. He succeeded the dharma of Kendo Sogen, the 346th head priest, and was also known as the seventh-generation head priest of Sokyoku-ji. Additionally, he served intermittently at Tokai-ji. He passed away in 1799, at the age of 85, in the 11th year of the Kansei era.
Chashaku, tea scoop, was originally a scoopula, dispensing scoop, which had been used in China. Many of them were metal made ones and had a taro's leaf like form scoop with a handle whose top was a ball like form to crush Chinese herb with it. Meanwhile, in Japan, people used chashaku as a tool to put powdered green tea into tea bowl.
At the end of Muromachi period, however, the tea ceremony was founded, and the ceremony's style in which host sit in company with the guest(s) in the same room and made tea in front of the guest(s) began. The host spooned up powdered green tea out of bottle, which was made of wood and kept the powder. Then chashaku made of metal did not suit for the use because it may damage the bottle and spooning up powders out of the bottle was difficult because of the chashaku's wide scoop. Therefore, Shutoku, a disciple of Juko Murata(1422-1502) developed his original wooden lacquered chashaku, whose shape was suitable for satisfying the condition. It was called "Shutoku-gata".
After that, bamboo made chashaku was developed. It was used as a disposal, single use tool.
Since the era of Rikyu, however, people began to put it back into a hollow bamboo utensil. In addition, people began to decorate the bamboo utensil with a stylized signature. At this point, people got to love a combination beauty of a chashaku and a hollow bamboo utensil. As time goes by, many tea experts have made hand-made bamboo chashakus and various chashakus has been made to love the shape of them as well as today.
